Adventurous, curious and passionate about food, Allegra McEvedy comes across as someone who would be a fantastic travelling companion. Apart from the fact that, due to her obsession with collecting knives, she must spend a lot of time being stopped at customs and having to justify her latest purchase.

From a simple wooden-handled Turkish picnic knife to the sexy, single-edged Japanese tool made for eel cleaning, Bought, Borrowed & Stolen tells the stories behind Allegra’s acquisitions. Also included are a wide variety of recipes she picked up on her travels: think Brazilian Breakfast Juice, Oranges in Tangiers and Rooibos Malva Pudding from South Africa.

One of the founders of the healthy fast food chain, Leon, Allegra wrote their first cookbook and it was her opinionated, slightly breathless voice that made that book such a joy. B,B&S has a similarly big-hearted feel and, like the Leon book, there are plenty of irresistible recipes here. This book is both an esoteric travel guide and a series of snapshots from a life well-lived.

Homemade Peanut ButterI had to try this homemade peanut butter which just uses peanuts and, if you think it needs it, some good flaky sea salt. If you have kids – or a Husband! – that likes peanut butter, they’ll be delighted that the leap from peanut-in-a-bag to peanut-butter-on-toast is so quick.

Preheat the oven to 160°. Scatter the peanuts on a flat baking tray and roast for 15-20 minutes, checking and shaking regularly, until a deep golden brown.

Set aside for a few minutes to cool, then pulverise in a food processor or blender with 3-4 tablespoons of warm water. Add salt to taste – depending on how salty the peanuts are, you might not need any more – and, if necessary, more warm water until you are happy with the consistency.

6 Responses

THis sounds like a fantastic book. My husband is a knife collector too and we usually have to do a pre-clearance at the airport because sometimes he is hesitant to put them in checked luggage for fear they will be stolen. Hope you are well and the kids are keeping you on your toes.

I can only imagine the trouble that causes, especially these days! I’ve always been one to pick up utensils while travelling, much to the Husband’s despair: a coffee dripper from Vietnam, a tagine (of course!) from Morocco, a cleaver from Malaysia. He put his foot down when I tried to pack a sweet little cast-iron pan in my hand luggage when I was travelling home from NZ.

I love Glór peanut butter but from the sounds of it, this might be just as good. My boyfriend always talks about the freshly made peanut butter he used to buy in Neal’s Yard in London years ago. Maybe this will bring back some memories…

I used to buy fresh peanut butter from a health food shop called Piko when I lived in Christchurch, NZ, and it had a great flavour, very unlike regular PB. I think they used to blend their peanuts with some kind of neutral oil, which also made it last longer than just using water.

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